I'm starting this thread to encourage us to share tips and ideas for photography and art related subjects.

Under the Architecture thread there is an interesting discussion about digitally scanning slides. BTW there is scope here to discuss scanning film negatives, which I've done in the past (scanned, not discussed ) to at least index rolls of film which I've inherited - call it conservation if you wish.

Apart from this there are film and photographic museums, conservators etc working on preserving our celluloid heritage, before everything spontaneously combusts!

It looks like there is a flourishing arena which could be explored in the forum. Surely, iPads have a place here, at least as excellent storage and viewing devices of the archived material. Also, iPad cameras do a darned good job, and I'm sure the cameras and the technology behind them will improve in leaps and bounds, to render then excellent for scanning and studio work.

Lets get to the point here. Is there any mileage in discussing the different aspects of imaging?

Suggested topics to include:-

1. Scanning and digitising film and prints.
2. Apps which you find useful to help capture and process images.
3. How good is the iPad for these processes, compared with dedicated film scanners, cameras and processing on a computer. The iMac is, so I'm told, the best piece of kit to deal with images and graphics.
4. Storage and sharing of processed images.

I'm posting again. I am looking at using a camera or an iPad to photograph slides. I have boxes of slides which I intend to digitise cleanly and sharply. So, I've dabbled very quickly. I used the iPad to take a snap of a slide. I used Amplivision, and I used the camera. Here are the results:-

Taken with the camera - not via an app.

These 2 were taken using AmpliVision.

The results are grainy and dark. I also need a strong light, preferable bounced off a white surface to evenly backlight the slide.

I realise I need to steady the slide holder and the camera/iPad to get crisp pin sharp results. I think I will need to adjust the photograph for contrast brightness, grain etc....

Wow...Richard....I have several boxes of slides I took back in my college days that I would like to convert to digital...I had been thinking about wasting $100 on a box from Amazon to do it...never thought about trying to use a camera and/or iPad to do it. I wonder if a macro shot would work well for this? As you say, you would need a strong light source and you'd need to get the focal plane adjusted just right...

I have an old slide projector around here some place...and I could project them on a dark wall and photograph them....

I seem to remember these little light boxes that you could put a slide into and cover over your eye...maybe put that over a camera with a macro lens on it...

For copying slides, I think one key point is sufficient illumination, which you're not going to get without a bright light source. I used a cheap flashlight (torch) with 3 AAA cells and 9 white LEDs. (I tried to attach a photo, but the forum software got all cranky.) Though the light output appears too blue, the color balance is actually pretty good for this purpose, and in any event can always be tweaked in Photoshop. To capture the most photons passing through the slide, the camera needs to be as close as possible to the slide, in macro mode. This favors any point and shoot camera over the iPad's camera, and their ISO settings are typically more flexible as well. My Canon A520 still wouldn't get close enough, so I shot through an old slide projector lens. Fiddly, but it worked. If you have lots of slides, be prepared to change flashlight batteries to maintain good output.

Dust is vexing. I used a Zerostat, a piezoelectric ion generator sold for removing static charges from vinyl LPs, plus puffs of air from a rubber solder sucker to blow dust away. Canned air would be even better. I cleaned both sides of each slide before shooting it, and between each roll of slides I recleaned the slide copier's diffuser window. The more dust you remove before scanning, the less you'll need to retouch with the rubber stamp tool in Photoshop, which is relatively easy but time consuming.

Try and get your slides in the correct order BEFORE scanning, so their file names and creation dates will be properly sequential. If you load them onto your iPad for display, iOS will use the creation date to order them within the album. The only way to change the order is to use a utility to edit each file's metadata manually, a real PITA. If you want to add text and a semi-fancy layout for iPad display, check out Pholium in the App Store. I can write up a vacation trip and hand the iPad to a friend to view it, without having to narrate each photo.

Great idea for this thread! Have already gained much. There is nothing incompatible about iPad enthusiasts being interested in photography. This will be one of the threads I will be visiting first off when surfing the forum.
Andrew

Wow...Richard....I have several boxes of slides I took back in my college days that I would like to convert to digital...I had been thinking about wasting $100 on a box from Amazon to do it...never thought about trying to use a camera and/or iPad to do it. I wonder if a macro shot would work well for this? As you say, you would need a strong light source and you'd need to get the focal plane adjusted just right...

I have an old slide projector around here some place...and I could project them on a dark wall and photograph them....

I seem to remember these little light boxes that you could put a slide into and cover over your eye...maybe put that over a camera with a macro lens on it...

Good thread...

Click to expand...

In my considered opinion, save up and buy a proper scanner for slides. Bad scans/images/copies mean more work in PS or something else. I have more slides than I can count and when I get around to scanning them, I'll try to find the best tech out there. OTOH, some people can get by with all sorts of things. Richard's way is ok I suppose. No offence, Richard.

I know a man that makes dye transfer prints. On homemade film using a scanner he built. The quality is beyond compare.

I was thinning that there must be a homemade approach to the problem. I have many slides with serious issues that I can fix with chemical treatments or converting the slides to individual color channels to improve the quality, but it takes work and not enough time left in the era.

In my considered opinion, save up and buy a proper scanner for slides. Bad scans/images/copies mean more work in PS or something else. I have more slides than I can count and when I get around to scanning them, I'll try to find the best tech out there. OTOH, some people can get by with all sorts of things. Richard's way is ok I suppose. No offence, Richard.

Dust is an issue. One thing I have seen with many old slides--especially those processed by Eastman Kodak an, yes, Technicolor, are scratches. Interestingly, what is often scratched is the lacquer EK/TC used as a protectant. You can remove the coating and remove most dust as well as most scratches.

There are several approaches: use a camera and macro lens; use a dedicated high resolution scanner, or some other device.

Or, you can take a photographic approach and do things old school. Sadly, the proper materials are no longer made and the process becomes daunting when your collection is vast.

Here=this thread or here=not dead and still rabel rousing on the forums?
Photography is why I did for many years and these issues are not new. Computer technology is a recent factor that both makes it easy to use your slides; at the same time, it is why I see so many bad duplicates.

I miss the old days. that said, in the old days we would put pen to paper and wait for replies via the Postal Service.

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